MMA

Tom Aspinall attacked by top heavyweight in X-rated rant amidst long hiatus

Published

1 month ago

September 10, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Tom Aspinall attacked by top heavyweight in X-rated rant amidst long hiatus

Credit: Waleed Zein/Anadolu

A top UFC heavyweight believes it's time for Tom Aspinall to put up or shut up when it comes to his long hiatus from competition.

Undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall remains sidelined after undergoing multiple eye surgeries stemming from his no contest at UFC 321 last year. Just minutes into his title defense against Ciryl Gane, Aspinall was unable to continue competing after getting hit with several accidental eye pokes.

Despite initial optimism that Aspinall could return to the Octagon in September, the undisputed heavyweight champion still hasn't been medically cleared to fight. UFC CEO Dana White hinted that the matchmakers are preparing to â€˜move on' from Aspinall's title reign if he remains sidelined for the foreseeable future.

After Gane won the interim heavyweight title earlier this year, a timeline for a potential Aspinall vs. Gane rematch remains uncertain. In the meantime, a top heavyweight contender is becoming increasingly frustrated with Aspinall's postponed comeback.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta scorches â€˜pâ€”-â€˜ Tom Aspinall over long UFC absence

During his Noche UFC pre-fight press conference, Waldo Cortes-Acosta was asked about whether or not the UFC should strip Aspinall of his heavyweight title.

â€œYeah, it's a lot of frustration to see the champion be like this,â€ Cortes-Acosta said of Aspinall.

â€œHe knows that he needs to come back and fight with Ciryl Gane. I think he's got a pâ€”-, and I think he'll have a long time to heal and come back to fight for the title, but this is not the champion. For me, this is not the champion.

â€œThe champion is someone who has a problem, fixes it, and tries to come back, fights and is a warrior, not a pâ€”-. I don't know where he is, trying to hide because he doesn't want to fight Ciryl Gane.â€ (h/t Bloody Elbow)

Cortes-Acosta isn't the only star fighter who is impatient with Aspinall and his team. Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo called for Aspinall to relinquish his heavyweight title to allow the division to move on.

Should the UFC strip Tom Aspinall of his title? Share your thoughts in the comments!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

MMA

Merab Dvalishvili calls himself a decision machine before Yan trilogy

Published

3 hours ago

October 21, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Merab Dvalishvili calls himself a 'decision machine' before Yan trilogy

Merab
Dvalishvili can joke about his low finishing rate in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Dvalishvili is scheduled to challenge Petr Yan for
the bantamweight title in a trilogy bout at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. When a fan
recently asked him to predict the outcome, the former champion
jokingly suggested another decision victory.

Merab Dvalishvili jokes about his decision-heavy record ahead
of Petr Yan title fight at UFC 333

Dvalishvili is known for his relentless pressure and wrestling,
with 16 of his 21 career victories coming by decision. The Georgian
has recorded two finishes in the UFC: a technical knockout of
Marlon
Moraes in 2021 and a submission of Sean
O’Malley in his second title defense last year.

Asked how he would beat Yan, Dvalishvili described himself as a
â€œdecision machine.â€

â€œThere are three ways to win: knockout, submission, or decision,â€
Dvalishvili said in a brief
interview. â€œI’m a decision machine.â€

A fan asks Merab how he's going to beat
Petr
Yan ðŸ‘€ “There are three ways to win: knockout, submission, or
decision. I’m a decision machine.” ðŸ˜‚ via: ghassan_elsolh IG

â€” MMA Pros Pick (@MMA_PROS_PICK_)
October 19, 2026

MMA

10 UFC wins, zero finishes: Movsar Evloev defends his fighting style

Published

15 hours ago

October 20, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

10 UFC wins, zero finishes: Movsar Evloev defends his fighting style

Movsar
Evloev rejects the notion that fans only want bloody
fights.

Evloev is scheduled to challenge Alexander
Volkanovski for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The Russian
challenger has won all 10 of his UFC bouts by decision but believes
fans appreciate his fighting style.

Movsar Evloev argues wrestling can entertain UFC fans ahead of
Volkanovski title fight

The recent departures of Michael
Page and Farid
Basharat have fueled debate about whether winning is enough to
secure a new UFC contract. Neither fighter was re-signed despite a
winning streak, though a lack of finishes has not been established
as the reason for either departure.

Evloev believes finishes are not the only measure of a fighter's
value. He says fans also appreciate tactics, skill and
wrestling.

â€œI have zero finishes in UFC, but I'm still in the UFC and I'm
fighting for the title,â€ Evloev told MMA Fighting. â€œThat means only
finishes are not important. To show a good fight is also important.
If you have no finish, you can still show a good fight, an exciting
fight; you can show the beauty of wrestling. There are not just
fans of MMA who just wait for blood. There are so many good fans
who know MMA, and they understand, and maybe because of them I'm
still in the UFC.â€

#UFC333’s Movsar
Evloev credits fans with his being in the UFC despite having
zero finishes: “There is not just fans of MMA who just wait for
blood. There are so many good fans who know MMA, and they
understand, and maybe because of them I'm still in the UFC.” (ðŸŽ¥
@JoseYoungs) https://t.co/cvpUBVusyb

â€” MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting)
October 19, 2026

MMA

Undefeated fighter blasts UFC, Dana White for creating ‘bullsh*t narrative’ around Farid Basharat release

Published

15 hours ago

October 20, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Undefeated fighter blasts UFC, Dana White for creating ‘bullsh*t narrative’ around Farid Basharat release

Muhammad Mokaev knows how it feels to win in the octagon and still lose with the UFC.

In 2024, Mokaev experienced a similar rift despite having zero losses on his record, and he is now taking aim at White and the UFC's practices in defense of Basharat.

â€œWhen fighters are getting phone calls from bosses telling them, â€˜If you keep wrestling like that, you're going to get cut,' then you're basically telling fighters how you want them to fight,â€ Mokaev wrote on Twitter. â€œAt what point does that cross the line? Isn't that influencing the competition?

â€œAnd if you want to release a fighter, fine. But don't then publicly say he was â€˜hard to deal with' or create some bullshit narrative about him that could damage his reputation and make other organizations think twice about signing him. Release fighters if you want. Just don't try to damage their careers on the way out.â€

Like Basharat, Mokaev employed a wrestling-heavy style that didn't always produce thrilling back-and-forth contests (though Mokaev did score submission victories in four of his seven UFC wins). The nail in the coffin for Mokaev was a disappointing decision win over Manel Kape at UFC 304, where both men produced little meaningful offense. Making matters worse, Mokaev and Kape had an altercation during fight week, with Mokaev admitting he threw the first punch.

Mokaev is 4-0 since parting ways with the UFC, having finished three of his past four opponents, but remains on the outside looking in with his competition going mostly unrecognized by fans in North America. The 26-year-old is currently No. 7 at 125 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.